Harcourts Auctioneer Andrew North valiantly won his place to a podium finish in the 2012 Harcourts Auctioneer Championship held last week at Harcourts New Zealand Annual Conference.

Andrew was one of four finalists in the open division, as he negotiated and managed difficult bidders throughout his15 minutes on stage.

Andrew’s relaxed and at times comical approach entertained the 700 strong crowd in SKYCITY Convention Centre’s New Zealand Rooms.

A previous Harcourts auction champ and runner up in last year’s REINZ Auction Championship, senior division, Andrew had fellow Cooper and Co auctioneer Stephen Johnson to contend with.

Harcourts National Auction Manager Robert Tulp, and previous REINZ Auction Champs runner-up knows the challenge that faces all Auctioneers in the competition environment.

“The test of a great Auctioneer is how well they can face challenges that may arise at any time, also how well they stay in control of the Auction Arena. This year’s competition was a solid test of accuracy, style & control. The standard of competition was nothing short of world class!’

The competition was held last week during the Harcourts annual conference at the SKYCITY convention Centre in Auckland. The competition ran over a two day period with 15 experienced Auctioneers competing for a place in the finals.

Last year’s winner Aaron Davis from Harcourts Marlborough also made the final along with fellow South Islander Phil McGoldrick who had never been in a Harcourts Auction Champs before but has been with the company under many guises and is a previous REINZ and Australasian winner. Cooper & Co Auction Director, Stephen Johnson did himself proud reaching the finals in the open division for the first time.

Cooper & Co also made it a clean sweep of this year’s Auctioneer accolades with Glenfield Manager, Robert Carter winning the award for Most Promising Auctioneer.